


Lucky Bet

by moonqueerdom



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Andrew is a vampire, Gambling, Kandreil - Freeform, Kevin is something I kinda made up, M/M, Multi, Neil is a ghost, Polyamory, i'm bad at tagging bye, sassy neil josten I guess?, that's some halloween inspired stuff because I just love halloween so why not, there's also a casino, they're probably a mess because I don't know how to write lololol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:21:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonqueerdom/pseuds/moonqueerdom
Summary: "Did you hear that there is new blood here at the castle today?" One of the frames on the wall asked.“New blood? Tell me more about it,” Neil raised an eyebrow, interested, and rested his hips against the long stone wall to pay more attention.“I don’t know much, but the guy looks super grumpy and mysterious, you know? He was arriving when I saw him and, as I said, today is his first time here, so I immediately noticed him. The strangest part though is that nobody is messing with him even if they look just as curious as me, you know? But the guy really exudes all that insane terrorI-will-murder-you-go-awayvibes and no one wants to be near him, and neither do I. He didn't look like a very good figure, to be honest.”Neil smirked and his skin wavered, becoming translucent before glowing a little red and then returning to the usual. "Oh, dear, you shouldn't have said that..."~Neil Josten and Kevin Day are the hosts of a supernatural casino and the new visitor, Andrew Minyard, immediately casts their attention.
Relationships: Kevin Day/Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day/Neil Josten, Kevin Day/Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 6
Kudos: 96





	Lucky Bet

**Author's Note:**

> hey! first of all, happy spooky season, everyone! this story is supposed to be something for halloween and because for me this celebration lasts the whole month of October, I decided not to wait until the 31st to post it.
> 
> today I offer some kandreil to you, tomorrow, who knows? anyway, I had this idea of plot (which doesn't exactly have a lot of plot) while listening to [teeth by lady gaga](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER9bHlAO2FA), but it's not exactly a songfic because the story ran away from the lyrics. you can still hear the song if you want to though. I very much recommend it.
> 
> I was very excited to write this right away because I've been wanting to write some kandreil stuff for some time and something for halloween too, so I just combined business with pleasure and hope it didn't end up completely terrible?  
> as I said, this fic doesn't have a lot of plot, most of the time I didn't even know what I was writing until it was already typed, so I really don't know what to expect from your reactions. let me know anything, okay?
> 
> now, enough with my nonsense, I hope you enjoy reading it and see you again in a few days because I still have things planned for this month. happy halloween everyone!!
> 
> (tw: irresponsible and clueless bets and mentions of self-harm. let me know if there's anything else)

"Did you hear that there is new blood here at the castle today?" One of the frames on the wall asked.

“New blood? Tell me more about it,” Neil raised an eyebrow, interested, and rested his hips against the long stone wall to pay more attention. The objects’  _ animos intererat _ were always scattered throughout the castle, moving between all the available items, and they were very gossipy, so being nice to them was always a huge advantage.

“I don’t know much, but the guy looks super grumpy and mysterious, you know? He was arriving when I saw him and, as I said, today is his first time here, so I immediately noticed him. The strangest part though is that nobody is messing with him even if they look just as curious as me, you know? But the guy really exudes all that insane terror  _ I-will-murder-you-go-away _ vibes and no one wants to be near him, and neither do I. He didn't look like a very good figure, to be honest.”

Neil smirked and his skin wavered, becoming translucent before glowing a little red and then returning to the usual. "Oh, dear, you shouldn't have said that..."

He didn't stay to hear if the  _ animos intererat _ said anything else, because in the next moment Neil found himself passing through the solid layers of the floors until he reached the ground floor, where he landed on a table where a poker game was taking place. The few people there were startled by the thud and the sudden appearance of a body, but Neil just smiled innocently and jumped from table to table until he landed on the floor and continued walking around the place.

He looked at the lights of the gaming machines and all the matches going on at the same time, all with luck at stake. The screams of frustration and sounds of defeat were a satisfying and welcome feeling inside Neil. He smiled devilishly and breathed in the smell of gambling.  _ Kev must be doing great today, _ he thought, and soon remembered that he was just looking for the man.

He walked through the crowd of people without any care and received some complaints in response plus some elbow attempts that went wrong thanks to him being on the negative norm, but Neil abandoned his non-physical state as soon as he saw Kevin and approached the other man already being corporeal.

Neil felt too out of place wearing only wine red shorts and a loose black T-shirt that fell a little on his right shoulder — not to mention the small bandages that covered some wounds on him — where Kevin was wearing a black ruffled shirt with a wine red waist corset on top, leather gloves and black skinny jeans. Neil sighed and rolled his eyes in a good-natured way.  _ Ugh, this man is fucking awesome. _

Anyway, whether really displaced or not, the moment Kevin's eyes met Neil's, the reaction was the same as always. The taller smirked and gestured for the auburn-haired one to approach, which he did without hesitation.

"Hello, dear," Kevin said, putting an arm around Neil's waist and pulling him close.

"Hey, handsome," he replied, pecking the other man's lips. "What do you have here?"

"They’re playing dead pool."

Neil looked at the table of people Kevin was watching. "Who are they betting on?"

“The  _ nekrians _ . They are in a blindfolded knife throwing competition, and here the dead pool game is going around which one is going to die first. You know how the game works.”

_Yeah, Neil knew what it was like._ _Nekrians_ were generally very peaceful creatures, being just small beings with horns, wings, a long, thin tail, and _very resistant skin._ That was why they always bet so much on their well-being. And on their _life_ as well.

Very peaceful and very insanely extreme creatures, in Neil's opinion.

"Are any of them lucky?" He asked Kevin, pointing to the people at the table who were betting.

The man's lopsided grin answered the question even before he said anything. Kevin's tail — thin and smooth, kinda like the tails of those little devils that usually appear on TV — moved from side to side and wrapped around Neil's leg. “Not a single one of them. Can you believe that?” He smiled widely and his eyes shone green like jade when he looked at the man beside him. “This is so  _ exciting, _ don't you think? So many people betting and  _ none of them _ will win. This is so much bad luck that my skin almost burns with it, it’s so beautiful.”

Neil smiled and nuzzled Kevin's jaw.

"Yeah, so beautiful," he whispered in the other man's ear. "We should celebrate this, don't you think?"

"For sure."

Kevin held Neil's chin between his fingers and leaned down to steal a kiss from him. A hot, passionate, and deep kiss that left them gasping.

"Well, I'm glad you agreed because I have great news!" Neil put his palms on the other man's chest and smiled at him, at which he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Giles just told me there is some new blood around here, and I'm super okay with looking for this said guy to welcome him, you know..."

Kevin snorted, knowing all too well the partner he had. "Are you thirsting over someone you don't even know yet?"

"I’m just curious."

He hummed. “Alright then. Find out about that person and tell me the details later, will you?”

"You know I will," Neil smiled and pecked his lips again before walking away.

He moved quickly through the vast hall, bumping into some people, stealing cards, messing up betting chips, and prematurely pressing the buttons on the slot machines on someone’s turn. His mischievous laugh echoed around the place and he was immensely pleased to hear the various curses directed at him.

Neil just calmed down when he shifted his focus to find the guy Giles was talking about. He had no idea how he should do it, but he would probably recognize the man anyway. New blood is always unmistakable.

He looked around, greeted some people, and watched some bets in progress, but his gaze was still focused on looking for the aura that had not yet been corrupted by the bets.

His eyes narrowed when he saw a blond head hovering over a hazard match, staring at the people playing. Neil smiled and came over like a blink.

"Hey there," he greeted, after appearing beside the man.

On some level, Neil was half expecting the blonde to be scared by the sudden and rapid approach — Neil loved to scare several people around the castle like that, no one ever saw him coming until he was there — but the man didn't even acknowledge his presence, acting like he had seen Neil coming and just didn't care enough, still overly attentive to the match going on.

"It's a little rude not to greet back someone who spoke to you, but I'll let it go just because it’s your first time," Neil grinned. “Are you interested in the hazard match? I can explain a little bit about how to play it, but it’s more a matter of good or bad luck.”

He was staring at the man openly and feeling something different about him, something that wasn’t very common in that castle. Obviously, that attracted Neil.

“Okay, you’re obviously very quiet, aren't you? But I can feel your pure aura without bets running through your blood, so I know that you're new here, and as a host, it's my job to introduce you to the place, so, if I may...” The auburn-haired man stepped forward and gestured to the group of people playing, “The first player, the caster, starts the game by placing his stake in the center of the playing area. The other players, the ones who wish to bet, place their stakes in the center and the caster accepts the bets by knocking. Once the bets have been made, the caster throws the dice to establish a  _ main point _ . This must be something between 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 and, if the caster fails to roll one of these totals, they continue throwing until they get it right. Once the  _ main point _ is established, the caster throws the dice again to establish a  _ chance point _ which must be between 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. If on the  _ chance point  _ throw they roll an  _ out _ they lose. An  _ out _ is a total of 2 or 3, known as a  _ crab _ , or a total of 12 when the  _ main point _ number is 5, 6, 8, or 9. The caster wins if when throwing for the  _ chance point _ , they roll a  _ nick _ . A  _ nick _ is 11 when the  _ main point _ is 7, 12 with a  _ main point _ of 6 or 8, or a throw of the  _ main point _ itself.”

When he finished speaking, the blonde was finally looking at him — apparently paying attention. Neil noticed his red-rimmed golden eyes and how it was supposed to send a danger alert, but if anything, it just made Neil want to get even closer to get a better look.

"This is stupid," the man only said.

Neil merely laughed and bowed his head in recognition. “Oh, so you  _ do _ speak! Nice to meet you, my name is Neil. I am a  _ muno _ . You know, a shape-shifting ghost.”

"Andrew," the other one said, nodding slightly.

“Mm... I can't really guess what you are, dear, but I think it's okay. Do you want to walk around and see the rest of the games?”

"Whatever."

Neil smiled. "Follow me then," he started walking ahead without looking back since he felt the presence of the man on his back. “We have several games here, obviously all of luck and chance, and all species are welcome to play as long as they follow the rules of respect for other customers. Bets can be worth anything as long as it is accepted by the others involved. For example,  _ miruris _ always bet parts of their houses, and  _ hixunos _ bet their own body parts. There are also simple money bets, but these aren’t Kevin's favorites, and therefore, not mine. I like to see Kevin all excited about a game.”

Andrew scoffed but said nothing, just kept following Neil and allowing him to speak while pretending not to watch him intensively — Neil also pretended not to see it.

“By the way, Kevin Day is my boyfriend and the main host. He is the only _ asuceos _ around this area.  _ Asuceoses  _ are creatures capable of manipulating luck and bad luck, so he feeds on the defeats and takes advantage of the victories of everyone here.”

"And  _ you _ what, feed on him?”

Neil smirked and looked directly at Andrew to reply, "Something like that," and then winked at the other man. He looked forward again and his face lit up. "Ah, that's Kevin over there," he pointed out.

Andrew looked for the said man and looked him up and down. "What the fuck is that tail?"

“It’s not like you've never seen a species’ mark before, right?” Neil snorted, gesturing around them to all the creatures there, “ _ Asuceoses _ always have a feature that sets them apart from wizards and witches. Physically these two species are the same even for the bright eyes, except for the mark though, which is the way to differentiate them. Plus the skills, of course, but the mark is faster and easier.”

The blonde was still looking curious at it as Kevin's tail moved from side to side.

Neil grinned. "What, you don't like tails?" He asked, and made a tail similar to Kevin's appear on himself out of sheer provocation. Andrew's gaze shifted to that and he frowned.

It was only then when he had his head slightly tilted, that Neil saw Andrew's veins and arteries through his pale skin. He startled with this new information and the tail disappeared immediately.

_ Only one species has such visible veins and arteries. _

" _ Are you a vampire? _ " He asked excitedly. “Oh my Satan, this is so cool! Do you know when was the last time I saw a vampire?  **_I_ ** _ don't know _ . Vampires are almost extinct, aren't you? This is so insanely cool. What gives us the honor of having you here? ”

Andrew's expression changed immediately and that was reduced to just a sulky grimace.

"I’m not a vampire."

“I'm not stupid, darling. I may not have seen many vampires but I recognize one when I see. You see, maybe that's why I was feeling something different about you,” Neil put a hand on his chin in a thoughtful expression, but soon removed it to smile his best shit-eating grin ever. "Don't be afraid, show me your teeth, baby."

"No."

He pouted but didn’t insist on the other man's unyielding expression. "Okay. So, I'm going to keep talking about the place,” he pointed in several different directions. “The casino is here on the ground floor, and upstairs has many other accommodations for employees and et cetera. It’s like a big residence. As I said, Kevin and I are the hosts, so we take care of the place. I think that's pretty much it.”

Andrew nodded. “Does this Kevin manipulate the results of the games? You said he has control over luck and bad luck, and the games are basically that.”

“Oh, no. Kevin only controls how luck and bad luck affect himself, not others. That's why he doesn't participate in the games, he just supervises,” Neil smiled. "But he does get stronger and more excited if people are losing, and he uses wins to accentuate losses."

“So he wouldn’t be able to lose? If he played?”

"Well, he could if the winner were the loser, you know?"

"Which, theoretically, would still be a victory."

"I guess."

Andrew hummed in appreciation, and Neil watched him with interest. They then watched Kevin and the match he was monitoring in silence, just standing side by side. The casino was busy today, and the loud and bustling music echoed through the speakers, but no one stopped to listen, too lost in the noise of chips, money, and bets being made. 

As they stood together and watched, Neil shivered. Somehow, Andrew had this attractive energy around him and all Neil wanted to do at that moment was to come closer and ask for any touch from him, even if it was a bite. He didn't think he would dislike the bite, by the way.

When the match was over and Kevin caught sight of them, he approached immediately with his green eyes almost burning and glowing insanely. Neil smiled.

"Hello, are you new here?" Kevin asked Andrew as, as usual, he put his arm around Neil's waist.

"Don’t know."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't know."

Kevin frowned and looked at him with confused eyes. They looked at each other excessively — and quite suspiciously, honestly — while rating one another from top to bottom. Neil just giggled between them.

"Well, if you need anything you can look for me and I will be very grateful to help," Kevin said.

“I’m okay,” Andrew dismissed him with a single wave of his hand.

"Are you going to play something, Andrew?" Neil meddled in the conversation.

He was slow to get an answer because the blonde was still too busy in an intense staring-war with Kevin to worry about saying anything. So he waited.

"Yes, I am," Andrew said and changed his look to Neil. He whispered, in a low, husky voice, "You can accompany me if you want."

But he didn't wait for an answer and just turned and walked away. The auburn-haired man was surprised for a while. His skin wavered again — translucent, glowing a little red and back to the usual. Kevin looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"This guy is very intense, this is interesting," he said.

“I know, right? He's a vampire, although he doesn't want to admit it.”

"Really?"

"Yes," Neil nodded and looked back at Kevin eagerly. "Can I?"

His green eyes softened and he laughed. "I mean,  _ I _ won't be the obstacle in this situation... Maybe you should be more concerned with getting permission from the crumpled guy over there."

"Idiot," Neil rolled his eyes good-naturedly and brushed his teeth over Kevin's jaw, standing on tiptoe to reach his ear, "You're interested in him too, aren't you?"

There was a beat of silence as Kevin watched Andrew who was already a little away from them.

"Perhaps. As I said, he's very intense and that's… interesting.”

"You’re like this too. Poor me, I have to survive in a place with  _ both of you _ present  _ at the same time _ . It’s just too much perfection for a mere  _ muno _ like me.”

"Dramatic," Kevin's throat bobbed when Neil hummed against his skin.

"I'm not dramatic, pretty boy," the latter smirked. “Anyway, have fun watching me walk around with the vampire. Don't be jealous, will you?”

"Of him or you?"

Neil threw his head back and laughed. "I don't know, you can decide that on your own."

He bit Kevin's earlobe, stepped back, winked, and turned around to walk across the casino floor, in the direction Andrew had followed. He knew that the jade-green gaze was fixed on him as he moved, and  _ oh how it filled Neil with ideas _ ... He just didn't know how to execute any of them, but if he saw the gap that was what he would do.

Andrew was hovering between several gaming tables, just watching and never getting together to play. He acted as if he were analyzing every move or every decision taken by the players, and watched everything with care and double attention. He reacted as if every single move had some logic behind it and he was able to figure it out. It was beautiful.

Neil approached him when he was at one of the poker tables, and just stood beside him while Andrew watched.  _ Gailaes  _ and  _ somnaes _ were playing this game in deep silence — except when extremely necessary to speak — and angry looks were exchanged constantly.

Andrew saw him as soon as he approached and signaled Neil to approach, just before asking permission to touch him. With the affirmative answer, the blonde's hand slid behind the other man's neck and he came too close to him to whisper, "Do you know why they’re so mad at this game?"

Neil absorbed the closeness with satisfaction. "Because they don’t want to lose the bet?"

"That's part of it, but it's not the whole reason," Andrew replied. “Poker is a game of confidence, how much do you think your hand of cards is worth and things like that. Losing this kind of thing is frustrating if you trusted that you had the power to win, are you understanding?”

"Yes, I guess."

“This is the thing about gambling games. Winning them gives you the feeling of power because everything just turned out to happen that way, and you barely had to do anything to win. At least in most cases.”

"I never thought of it that way."

“Yeah, but it's a type of easy power so it's not amusing at all. Cheating is so much more fun,” Andrew shrugged, and then pulled away from Neil's ear to look at his face, “Do you want to play a game?”

"I don't really like playing poker, actually."

"What do you like?"

"Slots."

"It’s difficult to cheat on slots."

Neil smirked and tilted his head. "You think so? Oh, darling, I really have some things to teach you...”

Andrew considered him for a few minutes, watching carefully. Finally, he nodded and conceded, "Show me then."

As simple as that, Neil turned and walked to his favorite machine. He gave a lopsided grin and ran his fingers over the glowing item, giving Andrew a few seconds to analyze it as well.

"Do you know what an  _ animos intererat _ is?" Neil asked, with a smug expression on his face.

"No, I don't think I've heard of it."

The other man nodded and tapped his fingers two times on the slot next to them.

"Bet on a combination," Neil asked.

Andrew didn't have to think before he answered, "three diamonds."

"What do you want if you win?"

"You playing a game of poker."

Neil nodded, "Fair enough," he looked at the machine's screen and said, "I bet on two diamonds and a pearl. If I win, I want  _ you _ to play a game.”

When the two of them agreed to the bets, Neil pulled the lever and waited while the combination was formed. The first two diamonds appeared immediately and Neil felt the expectation rising inside Andrew as the third item spun and changed, until it stopped at a pearl.

Neil smiled victoriously and put his hands on his hips.  _ Easy peasy. _

"How?" That was all Andrew said.

“ _ Animos intererat _ are controlling spirits. In this castle, there are some of those hidden in the walls, and I happen to be a good friend to them all, so they are willing to help me whenever I need it. Most  _ animos intererat _ interact more with simple objects, not machines, but there is always an exception to the rule, right?” He approached Andrew just a little bit and grinned while saying, "Now you have a bet to comply with, don't you?"

The other man scoffed but they went to a game of poker anyway. They had to wait until a new bet was started to join, but luckily it didn't take long.

When Andrew was sitting at the table, he looked up at Neil, patted his thigh twice, and said, “Did you want to see me play? Come and sit here.”

And at that moment Neil was probably completely out of his mind and just didn't pass out thanks to some fucking miracle. Andrew showed and explained to him everything he did during the match. He mostly played with the other players through bluffs and mocking comments, and Neil giggled every time any of the opponents got angry. It  _ was _ really funny.

They played about five games — and won them all — when Kevin finally approached. He had been watching them both from a distance and from where he was, Neil couldn't say who he was  _ really _ watching.

"Oh, well, see if this isn’t the dear host and undefeated player," Andrew deadpanned.

"I see you've got a lot of luck today, haven't you?" Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"You can say that," he shrugged, and laid a hand on Neil's thigh, who was still sitting sideways on his lap. The gesture attracted Kevin's attention and made Neil's skin wobble. "Why, do you want to play with me?"

The place around them immediately came to a standstill. People nearby were silent and didn’t move a muscle.

Kevin’s eyes immediately flashed, this time erasing any trace of the pupil and sclera and becoming just a pair of green flames on his face. Andrew wasn’t even affected by the sudden change.

Nobody asked Kevin Day to play. It was a guaranteed defeat. The only situation in which that happened was if someone had a very large and unpayable debt, then they would lose to Kevin and pay with something very valuable like an eye, three doses of blood, their house, or whatever like this, and so the unpayable debt would be forgiven.

"Are you challenging me to a match?" Kevin asked.

"I  _ asked _ if you want to  _ play _ , but sure, whatever."

A beat of silence.

"What do you want to play?"

"I have no preference, you can choose what you like best."

Kevin smirked. “We are going to play rock, paper, and scissors. This game is probably one of the most dependent on luck in the casino.”

"Rock, paper, and scissors, the hand game?"

"No. The cards version.”

"How does it work?"

“We chose ten witnesses and each one will draw a rock, paper or scissors on a blank card, then everything will go in a box and we will draw four cards each, and then we have to play from there. Whoever wins more times until the four cards are over, that is, in the four matches, wins the game. It's pure luck, isn't it?”

Andrew snorted. "Um, of course."

"So let's play?"

Everyone was anxious, waiting for Andrew's answer, and Neil included. He was looking from one to the other and smiling widely.  _ Oh, well, that would be exciting... _

"Sure, come on."

Kevin smiled and made only one movement with his hand that set everyone in motion. Within five minutes, they were both sitting on either side of the table and waiting to draw their cards. Neil sat on the flat surface between the two men. His gaze was bright and full of amusement, very attentive to both men and their game. He knew Kevin would win, for the reason he had already told Andrew, but it would be fun nonetheless because Andrew was quite a presence-filled figure.

When the ten cards were all in the box, the blonde held up a hand.

"We have not yet placed our bets," he said.

“Mm, right. If you win, you can ask for the amount of money you want. And if I win—”

"No, no... Where's the fun in that?" Andrew raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, folding his hands on the table in front of him and looking steadily at Kevin. "Neil said that you don't like conventional bets, so why do one now?"

"Whatever, really."

"Alright then, let's do it this way, the loser takes the prize and the winner doesn't take anything besides the victory."

Kevin's expression fell immediately. "Wait, what?"

Neil's eyes widened and a smirk took over his entire face when he looked at Andrew.

"I'm sure you heard me well..." The blonde said only. “Let's see which way your luck weighs more, shall we? The victory or the prize.”

"What is the goal of winning without a prize?"

“What is a prize if not just an idiotic consolation? You will have the victory, is that not what matters?” Andrew paused, "Sure, assuming you’re gonna win..."

Kevin was silent and Neil could almost see his brain working on an answer. He was confused, he didn't know which way to fall now. He knew, however, that he would be unable to debate Andrew, especially in front of everyone.

"Start the game," Kevin said only.

"Do you agree?" Andrew asked.

"Yes."

"What are we going to bet then?"

"I don't know what you—"

"Bet me!" Neil shouted excitedly.

He was sitting on the table with his too-long shirt reaching for his thighs and exposing that one shoulder, and also with that usual mischievous smile on his lips and the devilish gleam in his blue eyes. His gaze went and came back and forth across the table while he waited for his words to sink in the two men.

"Neil, dear, I don't think he's going to agree—," Kevin started to say.

“Don't assume my answer. I accept,” Andrew said, moving his eyes slowly to Neil, who giggled.

"So what? The one who loses can take Neil out for the night? Isn't that a little rude?”

The auburn-haired man moved a little closer to Kevin and gave him a deep kiss. "It's okay," he assured. "It will actually be an honor for me, so hurry up this game."

Kevin was momentarily taken aback by the kiss, but he recovered quickly and nodded, finally signaling to approach the box with the cards and place it on the table. He and Andrew took their cards at the same time and then stared at each other.

The mood around the table was tense and heavy, and Neil was smiling exaggeratedly with anxiety running through him. He waited while the two men looked at their options, and when they both looked ready, he started to count.

_ Three two one. _

They released the cards.

Andrew put paper and Kevin scissors.

They were silent for a few seconds, just staring at the cards until the corner of Andrew's lip twitched slightly and he looked up at Kevin.

The latter was biting his lower lip and looking at the two cards intensely as if he were really surprised by the result.

Neil didn't know what to make out of this competition. He didn't know what was cooler to see, what was more delightful or what was making him more nervous, but he  _ did _ know that it was an incredible thing to watch.

They finally put the cards aside and Neil counted again.

_ Three two one. _

Kevin put scissors.

And Andrew put rock.

Now the silence was almost an entire building falling on their heads, heavier than before and filled with apprehension. This was unusual. In all the games he was involved in, Kevin always won with one hundred percent of the right plays.

This time not only Kevin but Andrew and Neil were also paralyzed in shock.  _ Was Kevin's luck fluctuating? What was happening? _

They exchanged glances, mostly the other two men waiting for Kevin to give them an explanation, but he was just as confused and only shrugged.

Neil shrugged as well and once again;

_ Three two one. _

Andrew put rock.

And Kevin put paper.

They both took a deep breath at almost the same time. And that made the next round crucial and decisive. It could be a win for Kevin or a draw that would lead to an extra round. They were silent in their own nervousness or whatever it was.

Neil was almost vibrating in place as he prepared to call it again.

_ Three two one. _

Andrew put scissors.

And Kevin also put scissors.

They had a moment of silence while they reasoned it, but Andrew clearly understood before Kevin, if the smirk on his face meant anything.

"You won, Day," he said, quietly and firmly.

"But the last one was a tie."

“Yeah, that means a point for both you  _ and _ me, which leaves you with three and me with two. Victory for you,” Andrew leaned back and spread himself on the chair, looking forward with his chin up, “and the prize for me.”

Neil bit his lip and looked at Kevin. He was still squinting in the direction of the last cards dealt as if thinking very hard about something. It was impossible to read his expression, and it slightly alarmed the auburn-haired man. He crawled on the table until he was facing Kevin and held his face in his hands.

“Hey, handsome,” Neil called, “You know you can say  _ no _ , don't you? If you don't want to, nobody is going to force you into accepting anything, Kevin. I am in a  _ relationship _ with you, so you also have to consent to this. And if it's a no, then it's a no.”

A few seconds of silence later — just between the three of them, the rest of the casino was back to its normal operation —, Kevin looked up and his green eyes fixed on the blue ones in front of him.

"It's okay, Josten," he said, bringing a hand to the other man's thigh, which put an affectionate smile on his face. “The bet is not what is shaking me, actually. How did you do it?"

The last question was directed at Andrew, and he sighed heavily before answering.

“It surprises me that you don't know, honestly. Your luck is manipulated by your wishes, so things around you distort according to what you want. When I presented two opposite options that you wanted both, the will was divided and then you saw what happened.”

Kevin nodded in understanding, blinking a few times.

"Have fun, you know where to find me later, don't you?" He said, stroking Neil's thigh where his hand was resting.

"Cut the drama, Day," Andrew mumbled before Neil could respond and rolled his eyes. "If you want to come too, whatever, you can come. I don’t care."

Both Kevin and Neil looked at him at the same time, sort of a silent question, and Andrew shrugged.

_ Interesting… _

"You know," the auburn-haired one said, as he laid his body on the table, above the cards, "there's a dining room on the top floor of the castle, and it's probably empty now."

He closed his eyes and waited. While he was like this, he just remained silent, trying to hear or perceive any sign that they had decided something.

Kevin cleared his throat to get attention, "Okay, we can go upstairs now, if you want... I don't think there will be any major matches in the next few hours."

"Fucking junkies," Andrew murmured as he got up from the chair and straightened the cuff links for the shirt he was wearing.

Neil smiled widely and got to his feet immediately, practically floating in front of them to the doors of the castle staircase.

That night, they dinned whatever food they found in the kitchen — and also ate dessert because they found out Andrew had a huge ass sweet tooth even though he drank blood to survive —, discussed games — in that part Neil just listened because he was much more about messing up the games than playing them — and they obviously flirted shamelessly — they were ridiculously shocked to discover that Andrew could be as audacious (i.e. a twit) as Neil in that sense.

At some point during the night the blonde finally gave in and admitted that he was indeed a vampire, but he regretted that exactly ten seconds later when Neil started saying ‘Take a bite of my bad boy meat! Take a bite of me!’ and stuff like that all night long.

And Neil also found that Kevin and Andrew had much more in common than they  _ appeared  _ to have. And probably the two of them found that out too if the way they were kissing intensely when Neil returned to the dining room after leaving for just a few minutes to leave the dishes in the kitchen indicated something.

Like, he really stood there for a few minutes because,  _ damn they were fast and they were beautiful. _ And then he giggled, walking over to sit on the table and wait patiently. He didn't feel entitled to participate without being invited, so all he really did was watch as Andrew kept his hand around Kevin's throat — without squeezing, though — and they kissed furiously. Kevin wasn't touching him anywhere but his lips and they were still sitting in their respective chairs, but these were now facing each other.

They finally saw Neil, several minutes later, and exchanged a single look to reach a silent agreement, and then Kevin patted himself on the thighs and Neil almost hopped over there, straddled him, and happily let himself be kissed while giggling between the two men. Their kisses were now delicate and careful with Neil. On his neck, cheeks, mouth, on the shoulder uncovered by the shirt...

That night was all nice and  _ luckily _ the first of many others, as Andrew returned regularly to the castle only to be defeated by Kevin and win another night with the two of them.

**Author's Note:**

> now, I have only one thing to say: I may or may not have started watching kakegurui. you will never know. (yes I did.) any similarities are mere coincidences...
> 
> thanks for reading this far!! don't forget authors love kudos and comments.
> 
> (you can always find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonqueerdom) or [tumblr](https://thewickeddevil.tumblr.com/) and you can [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/moon020310) if you want and help support me)


End file.
